Blind Love
by Du Hjarta Skulblaka
Summary: A short fluff fic written for femslash february. In the aftermath of the Reaper war, Shepard has been left blind and in a wheelchair. Her relationship with Liara encourages her to keep fighting for recovery so that one day, they can have a peaceful life.
1. A Rude Awakening

It took her a while to realise she was awake. Everything was black and the only real sign was the distant pain she felt, dulled thanks to heavy medication. Shepard felt as though her entire consciousness was wrapped in damp cotton wool, warm and soft but dark and slowly suffocating.

In the end that was what jolted her to awareness. Her breath came in laboured gasps and she could feel a mask pressing around her lips. She blinked and tried to look around but still, nothing but black. She began hyperventilating, claws of panic piercing through the medicated fog.

_I'm dead. I'm dying. I'm suffocating. I'm spaced. The Normandy is going down. I'm spaced. That's why it's dark. I cant breath. I cant move. I can't-_

Her thoughts abruptly cut off as she realised she_ could_ in fact move, if only a little. In her fear she had begun to claw around her, searching for anything t grab hold of. her frantic movements had tipped her to one side and the sensation of falling griped her, quickly followed by a hard, cold slap.

It was the feeling of gravity that managed to pull her back into reality. Gasping, she continued to claw at the floor, feeling cool plastic tiles. She tried again to blink, but the room remained in total darkness. She tried to stand, onlly now realising that she couldn't feel her legs.

Shepard was nothing if not stoic, but some situations can overpower the bravest of soldiers. A wordless scream of fear and panic escaped her lips as she clawed at the floor, trying desperately even to sit. She didn't even hear the strident beeps of the hospital machines, nor the sound of hurried footsteps as medics piled into the room. Commander Samantha Shepard was lost, helpless and blind, and for those horrible few minutes it seemed as though her sanity had fled her.

* * *

Liara stared at the coffee mug in her hands as though it held he secrets of the universe in it's dark depths. It had long since grown cold and truth be told, she was barely even aware she was still holding it. Her thoughts were firmly elsewhere.

It had been nearly two months since she and the others had recovered Sam from the Citadel control room, barely holding on to life. Her injuries had been extensive, ranging from third degree burns and broken ribs to damage to her spinal cord. It had been almost impossible to recognise her, so bad were the burns to her face. Shards of glass had been imbedded in her eyes, utterly ruining them. She had been rushed to the best medical facilities available and against all odds, she had been stabilised. But she had yet to awaken from the resulting coma.

Liara may have been in denial, but she was no fool. She knew how unlikely it was her love would recover, the fact that she had survived at all to make the call to Hackett was nothing short of miraculous. Even if she woke, her spinal injuries made it doubtful that she would ever walk again. Her ruined eyes could potentially be replaced with lab grown copies, but with the chaos left by the Reapers it could be months or even years before that would be an option.

Deep down, she feared what would happen if Sam ever came back. Of course she wanted nothing more than to have the love of her life and father of her unborn back, but Samantha had never been the most mentally stable person to begin with, not since Akuze. The war had pushed her to the edge, and Liara was terrified that surviving only to find herself a blind cripple may push her over.

"Doctor! Doctor T'soni!"

Hearing her name startled her out of her reverie and she looked up to see one of the doctors that had been monitoring Shepard running towards her. The young Salarian's eyes were huge with shock and Liara felt her heart skip a beat. There were only two possible reasons for his haste; one was that Shepard was dying. The other…

"It's Commander Shepard!" He exclaimed, the joy in his voice causing a surge of electricity through her. "She-" Liara was on her feet and sprinting down the corridor before he could finish, the forgotten coffee mug tumbling from her grasp and smashing on the floor.  
_Shepard was awake._

* * *

Sam sat slumped in the wheelchair, a bandage covering her damaged and useless eyes. She had worked out the layout of the room and knew some halfwit medic had positioned her facing the window, for all the good it did her. Her soul comfort right now, her light in the darkness, was the warmth of Liara's hand in her own.

Even in her current state, Shepard was far from defenseless and she had managed to injure several orderlies before Liara had ran in, her name on her lips. It was the sound of her voice that pulled Sam out of her adrenaline fueled panic, and her timely intervention that had prevented them from attempting to sedate her. While that may have calmed her in the short term, it would only have made things worse.

"You won't be stuck like this forever, love. Doctor Chakwas-" Shepard's derisive snort made her fall silent, and for that alone she instantly regretted it.  
"You can't know that Li. Chakwas said I _might_ recover. I _might_ get back the use of my legs. Even with therapy it's pretty unlikely. And the eyes? Fuck, you think they're gonna make growing a new set of eyeballs for some crippled sod a priority?"  
"I think they will make restoring Commander Shepard to health a priority." Liara repiled and some reason that made Sam smile, imagining the irritated scowl she got whenever Shepard did something particularly stubborn. She felt Liara's hand brush her cheek and she turned her head into her touch, a soft groan of comfort escaping her. She felt another hand brushing through hair that felt far too long. "I'll cut it for you later." Liara murmured, as though sensing her thoughts.

Shepard sat up a little, turning to face roughly in Liara's direction. "Let me see you, Li."  
"Let you…I don't-"  
Not letting her continue, Sam reached out and clumsily groped the air for the asari before her hands were gently guided to her face. She smiled, wondering how Liara always managed to figure out what she stroked the other woman's face gently, feeling every curve and ridge. Her thumbs brushed her eyelashes ever so lightly and warm breath tickled her skin. It was an imperfect yet intimate look, and it calmed her more than she could say.

After a moment she felt the familiar warm silk of Liara's mind touching hers, and welcomed her eagerly. She was a burst of light in Shepard's darkened mind, her candle in the dark. Their lips touched in a soft, comforting kiss and Liara's voice whispered through Sam's mind;  
_You will get through this, my love. I know you. And I will be beside you every step._  
_I love you too, Blue._


	2. The Wedding

Liara fiddled with her hands nervously, staring at herself in the mirror while Tali lightly dabbed a few traditional streaks of face paint beneath her eyes. She wore a flowing lilac silk dress, a line of opalescent Thessian pearls sitting around her neck. The quarian was likewise dressed for the occasion, her suit beautifully decorated with strips of purple fabric that disguised the more utilitarian parts of it's design, making it appear more like an elegant gown.

"I don't understand why you're so nervous, Liara. This is Sam we're talking about! Besides, didn't you two already have Anderson marry you before Earth?"

"That is no true comparison. I will forever be greatful to the Admiral for what he did, but it was little more than a rushed formality. This...Goddess, everyone will be there, watching us! She is still recovering, she should really be in bed but-"

Liara could almost hear Tali rolling her eyes "_But_, she's Captain Sam Shepard! You of all people know what a stubborn bosh'tet she is. You think she's going to let a little thing like a wheelchair stop her from marrying the love of her life?"

She smiled faintly, studying the unfamiliar sweeps of white beneath her eyes.

"You are right of course...It is just..." She trailed off, fighting the unexpected surge of emotion.

"It is just, you're getting married."

* * *

Since their initial marriage had (albeit loosely) followed human tradition, Shepard had insisted their official ceremony be asari. As such, their rooms sat opposite one another across a hall, with a slightly raised pedestal at the centre. At that pedestal stood Samara, the Justicar having asked permission to conduct the ceremony upon hearing of the couple's plans. To have a Justicar preside over a bonding ritual was considered a great honour, and they had of course accepted. A curtain hid the entrance to the hall from Liara's view, Tali peering out expectantly for the signal to begin.

"Alright! It's time!"

Liara's heart skipped a beat and she felt sure she would have collapsed there and then had Tali not reached out to take her arm, lightly guiding her through the curtain. Stepping out, she looked out over the crowd of people seated in front of the walkway, the entire surviving crew of the Normandy present along with close personal friends. For someone who had faced down Reapers, thresher maws and banshees, the prospect of walking a few feet in front of them all was surprisingly terrifying. It was little comfort that she knew Shepard would be feeling exactly the same.

But then she saw , dressed in a finely tailored suit that beautifully followed the curves of her body, her normally unruly shock of red hair neatly groomed , approached in her chair flanked by Garrus. He also wore a suit, his own obviously styled more to turian high fashion. Shepard still wore a bandage around her eyes, the operation to replace them not due for another two weeks, yet her own innate sense of direction assured that she needed no guidance.

About a third of the way down the walkway though, she stopped suddenly, Liara also faltering in surprise. For a moment she was sure something was wrong an her every instinct was to run to her bondmate, but Tali held her back and whispered "It's okay. Watch."

Shepard turned slightly and nodded her head to Garrus, who reached down and grabbed something from the side of the stage. Liara gaped as he produced a pair of crutches, helping Shepard get a hold of them and then aiding her out of the chair. Liara knew she had been undergoing therapy to help her recover but she had no idea that she had regained any mobility. She could feel tears in her eyes as she watched her slowly walk towards the centre of the platform, clearly under some strain but managing to do so without help from Garrus, who nevertheless walked alongside her and watched for any sign of her faltering.

Remembering herself, Liara started and resumed walking forwards herself, finding herself gripping Tali's arm tightly. When they at last reached the centre, she reached out and placed her hands over Shepards as she held the crutches, that familiar cocky smile spreading over her lover's face. "I bet you look amazing, Blue."

"You did not need to do that Sam...I...you must be exhausted-" She was cut off as Shepard snorted, waving her arm as much as her curent grip allowed. "Puleeease. I wasn't about to greet my wife in a godamn chair. Which reminds me. Vakarian, if you'd be so kind."

Had Liara been paying attention to either of them, she may have noticed the wink that passed between their two companions. To her continueing surprise, Garrus reached behind Shepard's head and began to unwind the bandages, slowly revealing the woman's closed, reddened eyes. As she watched, those eyes opened to reveal dazzling green gems, squinting a little even in the low light.

"S-sam! You...Your eyes!"

"Chakwas did the operation last night. They got the replacements sooner than expected."

"But...she never told me! I had no idea-"

Shepard shifted, leaning awkwardly on one crutch so she could reach up with her other hand, her fingers lightly brushing over Liara's cheek and feeling the tears of joy that sat there. "I wanted it to be a surprise, Li. I wanted to make sure that the first thing I ever saw was you."


End file.
